EU-China Summit - Li to pledge billions in investment

http://www.dw.com/en/eu-china-summit-li-to-pledge-billions-in-investment/a-18546569

As Europe finds itself facing a raft of economic challenges due to the ongoing Greek debt crisis, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is expected to announce a multibillion dollar investment in the EU's new infrastructure fund.

EU-China Summit - Li to pledge billions in investment
Srinivas Mazumdaru
29.06.2015

China has been a major destination for European investment since the Asian nation opened up and initiated economic reforms more than three decades ago. In recent years, Chinese investments in Europe have also been on the rise, reflecting closer business ties between the two sides.

Li Keqiang, the Chinese Prime Minister, now aims to deepen the economic engagement even further by promising billions of dollars to the new European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI) - a 315 billion-euro ($354.94 billion) fund focused on reinvigorating growth and job creation in the EU by channeling investments in infrastructure, research and innovation, among other areas.

Li is in Brussels to attend the 17th annual EU-China summit on Monday, June 29. He is scheduled to hold talks with European leaders on a range of bilateral and international issues such as intellectual property rights, technological innovation and digital economy. After visiting Brussels, Li will travel to France to strengthen bilateral relations.

The Chinese premier's Europe trip comes amid an escalation of the EU debt crisis following Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' announcement to hold a referendum on July 5 to decide whether to accept a bailout deal offered by international creditors.